


Nipped

by General_Button



Series: Break Free [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff and Crack, Lotor and Sendak do not get along, M/M, catnip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-03
Updated: 2019-03-03
Packaged: 2019-11-08 13:09:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17981948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/General_Button/pseuds/General_Button
Summary: “I contacted your officials—” Shiro didn’t know what to think of Coran contacting anyone on Earth, let alone any ‘officials’, “—to procure a gift for our galra friends, and after describing some of our members they assured me that ‘catnip’ as it’s called, would make them feel brighter than the entire universe!”“Is that what they said?” Shiro asked. “Exactly?”“Well, their exact words were more about them feeling ‘higher than the clouds’, but yours are actually quite low comparatively.”





	Nipped

**Author's Note:**

  * For [IsabelleLux](https://archiveofourown.org/users/IsabelleLux/gifts).



> For Isabelle :) She requested a fic where the paladins all return to Earth and Coran gets a hold of a bunch of catnip that affects the galra in a specific way. Lotura was requested as an additional pairing and I hope I did that right <3
> 
> I'm not going to say this is "officially" part of the universe. Think of it more like a possible future, with Lotor not being crazy and all. Hover over text for a translation.

“Can you see it yet? Can you see it?!”

“Hold on, Lance.” There was a rustling sound, and then a thump, but Shiro didn’t look behind him to see what had happened. “If you’d stop crawling all over me, maybe I could get a good reading!”

“Why are you the one in charge of this again, Hunk? This was my seat in the first place!”

“Because you couldn’t sit still,” Pidge piped in from her side of the room. She was seated at the other console, gathering readings while Allura steered the ship. So far, she hadn’t said a word about all of their bickering. Shiro wondered if she was seriously that zen, or if she had closed off her hearing using her shapeshifting powers again.

“Well?!” Lance shrieked. Allura didn’t move a muscle. Yep, she definitely wasn’t listening.

“This is pretty exciting,” Sendak said to no one in particular. “ _I’m_ excited. I haven’t seen Earth in years. It’ll be good to be back.”

Good was putting it lightly. The last time Shiro had been on Earth, he had barely been conscious. Now, nearly five years later, he was in a much state of mind. The war was on its last legs, they were making serious headway now that Lotor was at the helm, and over time their little family had grown exponentially larger _and_ louder—

His thoughts were cut off by the sound of an inhuman shriek. Everyone but Allura winced, whipping around to see what the noise was about.

Shiro was already halfway across the room by the time Ayame came running in, bawling her eyes out. Shiro crouched down in front of her, checking on her for any immediate injuries, but with nothing obvious to show for it, he could only guess it was one thing.

“What happened, sweetie?”

She said nothing, but continued to sniffle and rub at her eyes.

“Were you running again?” Shiro asked, moving her hands gently away from her face to see what the damage was. Her nose was a little red, but that could be from how hard she was crying.

“What have I told you about running in the halls?” Shiro asked, forcing a sternness to his voice that he didn’t feel.

They had had this conversation a dozen times, but it was hard to be angry when the tiny galra standing in front of him was scowling so fiercely, fresh tears staining her cheeks. It was both heartbreaking and adorable.

She tipped her head forward and sniffed, as if she could conceal her expression with her bangs. Shiro had been trying to get her to cut her hair for weeks now, but Ayame absolutely refused to allow anyone near it, and Shiro didn’t feel up to trying to get past her claws.

“Ayame.”

Shiro knelt down in front of her and brushed the hair out of her eyes. She jerked her head away and started growling, flexing her claws like she was going to take a swipe at him. Thankfully by this point, she knew better than to do _that._

“Ayame,” Shiro said, louder than he intended, calming his voice almost immediately when she looked up at him wide eyed. He tried not to raise his voice around them—auditory sensitivity notwithstanding—but the twins made it very difficult to keep calm when they wouldn’t _listen._ “You know you’re not supposed to growl when you’re upset. We talked about this.”

As Shiro stood there, staring down in disapproval, the growling slowly quieted, and then came the sniffles again.

“Honey.” Shiro sighed, reaching out again so he could comb his fingers through her hair. “ _Udak_ and I warned you just this morning that if you ran, you could hurt yourself. Coran just had it waxed. Isn’t that right?”

Watching her face smack against the floor as she ran away from him the first time she’d gotten hurt in this same way had given him the scare of his life. They had extensive conversations with the twins, not that they understood them fully.

Ayame mumbled something that Shiro couldn’t hear.

“What was that, sweetie?”

“Uh huh,” she said, barely above a whisper. “No run.”

“She okay?” Pidge asked from behind. Shiro nodded without turning and scooped Ayame into his arms. She shoved her face into his throat, clinging to his shirt with her claws.

“How far are we from Earth?” Shiro asked the room at large. “I want to get both of the twins checked out before we land.”

She looked fine, but he wanted to be sure there wasn’t a scrape anywhere he couldn’t see. They’d never been on Earth before, and they needed to have every vaccination available before being introduced into the atmosphere.

“Wait, wait, wait, I see it!”

Hunk’s cry garnered the attention of everyone in the room. Even Allura had adjusted her hearing back to its usual levels once she had seen for herself how close they were, and she smiled back at those gathered around Hunk’s screen.

“Nearly there!” she called back. “Radar imaging will not be able to compare to the real thing in a moment. Coran?”

“Right away, princess! Full speed ahead!”

It wasn’t long before Earth came into view, and the room held a collective breath.

“Oh my god, wow,” Shiro heard someone say. It sounded like Lance. He was too busy staring.

Through the castle’s main view, they could see it: Earth. _Home._

Shiro didn’t realize there were tears in his eyes until Ayame called out to him.

“Daddy?”

Ayame blinked up at him, the absence of her pupils no longer a source of discomfort for Shiro. At first, it had been strange, seeing a human baby with a light dusting of purple fuzz and full head of black hair, but he’d quickly taken to it. There was something charming in knowing that her eyes were like Sendak’s, too.

“Daddy,” she said, sniffling. The sniffling got worse, and her eyes began to well with tears. “Daddy!”

“No, no, honey, it’s okay,” Shiro hurried to say. As emotional as seeing Earth made him feel, his tears would set off Ayame, and then she might start screaming. “I’m fine. I’m just happy to see Earth. That’s where I was born.”

Ayame followed the line of his finger and stared at the round object increasing in size. Within minutes they would be close enough to make out the details that he remembered seeing those first few times he had gone into space. It would never stop being breathtaking.

But as much as he wanted to stay and watch, he had children to take care of, and a mate to find.

“Come on, baby girl, let’s get you checked up. Then we’ll find your sister. She should be with _udak,_ right?”

“Don’t wanna see her,” Ayame said, crossing her arms.

“You don’t want to see your twin?” Shiro frowned, bouncing Ayame in his arms. She remained unaffected, casting a remarkably withering glare for her age, lips curling into a familiar snarl. “Just this morning you were saying you missed her at breakfast.”

“Don’t wanna see her!” She clung to Shiro’s shirt, her scowl deepening. “I wanna stay with daddy.”

As she clung to him, tears threatening in her eyes, he knew that the day was going to be long.

* * *

“Shiro!”

Sendak found them just outside the medbay. The frantic note to his voice no longer concerned Shiro; it was, at best, level four on the danger scale, and with how he’d found Ayame just minutes ago, he could assume that this was the reason Sendak called out to him now.

“Sendak! You’ve brought Ellar. Great!”

She had herself buried in Sendak’s furry chest, one of her favorite places to be, and her eyes were slightly red-rimmed. Shiro gestured to Ayame.

“I take it this one escaped?”

“I have been looking for her for half-a-varga,” Sendak said, sounding out of breath. “I have no clue how she manages this so often. I had only just fished her sister out of the kitchen cupboards.”

“Again?” That explained the tears.

For some reason, Ellar was fascinated with containers of all kinds, which included the cupboards in the kitchen, one of the few places that had some. If given the opportunity, she would pull out every item in whatever container she could get her hands on and set it down neatly to the side for further examination. It wasn’t that she wanted to use, or even consume the things she found. She just wanted to take them out and look at them.

“Now that you’re here, hold her while I get the pods ready,” Shiro said, holding out Ayame. She tried to cling to Shiro, digging her claws into his shirt, but he was well-versed in dealing with the two of them at this point and pried her off, ignoring her anguished cry.

Shiro had a lot of experience with these pods. He had fed his children for the first time in them, and they’d been in them a number of times since. It was quick, and thankfully painless. Shiro was glad for that, as he was glad that he was able to take a moment with Sendak while they rested inside.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, nudging him with his shoulder. “And why aren’t you wearing a shirt?”

“Ellar vomited on it—quite violently.”

“Glad I wasn’t there for it. Their puke is so much more…potent.”

Sendak scowled, and they turned to the pods to watch as Ellar and Ayame remained curled around each other. Short puffs of air were delivered into the pod for decontamination purposes—or whatever it was that the Alteans used to keep people safe in unfamiliar atmospheres.

“So, how does it feel?” Shiro asked. “Being back on Earth.”

“I never visited Earth, technically. I merely hung about your skies. I hardly saw any of it.”

“Uh, huh.” Shiro leaned into him, smiling when Sendak wrapped an arm around his waist. It was strange to think about how far they’d come and all the things that had happened. There was a lot of bad, but there was _so_ much good.

“Hey, c’mere.”

Shiro tugged on Sendak’s shoulder, pulling him down into a chaste, but satisfying kiss.

“Mm,” Sendak hummed. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your kiss?”

“Just wanted to. I love you,” Shiro added, because he wanted to do that, too. Sendak cocked his head, silent—he was more frugal with his affection at times, which Shiro didn’t mind. “After all this, why don’t you and I pawn our children off to someone else and find a nice beach somewhere where we can…relax.”

“Are you certain you want to relax?” Sendak teased. Before Shiro could answer, the pod beeped, alerting them that their kids were ready to go.

Ellar’s voice was the first rise up in the form of a screech.

“Daddy, Aya bit me!”

* * *

Once everyone had been calmed down and changed into more fitting clothing, they assembled at the entrance to the castle to be welcomed back to Earth.

 _Earth._ Shiro still couldn’t believe it.

Thankfully, the team that met them was small. Sam and Matt Holt had gone ahead of everyone else—with a few aliens in tow—and broke the news that hey! Aliens existed all along! They had taken on most of the brunt work as far as catching Earth up to speed.

Make no mistake—the paladin’s welcome included a thousand questions and promises to discuss more later, but for now, they wanted to visit. They wanted to go _home._

“I can’t believe we’re finally back,” Hunk said, whispering it reverently. His eyes were shining, but none of them had broken yet, not even Lance. Considering that their families would be visiting the next day, he didn’t expect that to last long.

Shiro thought about the family that wasn’t waiting here for him. He thought about his parents, and what they would say. Then Sendak tapped him on the shoulder, holding the twins in his arms, looking comfortable with the two of them clinging like little monkeys, and Shiro grinned.

“ _Udak_ carried us,” Ellar declared. From the sound of her voice, she was disappointed Shiro hadn’t offered to do the same.

“I’m sure _udak_ was very happy to do that for you,”  Shiro began slowly, reaching out to pry her fingers away from Sendak’s fur. “Make sure you tell him thank you. And watch your claws.”

Ellar’s expression was impish, but she did as she was told, retracting them reluctantly.

“Thank you, _udak,”_   she said. Ayame was quiet in the crook of his other arm; she had never been much of a people person, and with so many new faces, Shiro didn’t expect to get much out of her. She reached out to Shiro, who took her, tucking her under his chin while he scanned the area for any pressing matters that needed attending to. His lion was docked in the castle, and Allura said Coran was dealing with the placement of the castle so it wouldn’t interfere with the Garrison.

Shiro was staring at Coran, frowning at the site of something large packed in dozens of bags, when he heard the sound of a ship landing. He looked up, and was surprised to spot a very familiar ship, carrying a familiar individual.

He looked at Sendak to make sure he wasn’t seeing things, and sure enough, a familiar scowl appeared on Sendak’s face the moment he realized Lotor had crashed their Earth-party.

It was no secret that the two of them didn’t exactly get along. While they kept things civil, Sendak didn’t agree with Lotor’s politics regarding the empire, and he felt that Lotor lacked the respect for a retired veteran that had stood by his father without question. Lotor resented him for his loyalty and refused to attempt to understand, not that Shiro could exactly blame him.

Shiro usually attempted to intervene when they bickered, but lately he’d let them go at it on their own. He was tired of dealing with petty squabbles. He did that enough already with Voltron.

Lotor’s private craft landed some ways away from the castle, smooth and ethereal as the man himself. Shiro glanced at Allura to gauge her reaction, and judging by the shell-shocked expression on her face, she hadn’t expected him to show up either.

“Allura!” he cried, the moment he stepped out of his hangar. He spread his arms wide, indicating that Allura should throw herself in between them. Instead, she tugged on his arm and pulled him into her own embrace, leaving him floundering for a moment before he found his footing.

“Lotor!” Allura planted a quick kiss on his lips. “What are you doing here? You said you had meetings to attend to.”

“Hello, darling,” he cooed, saccharine in its sweetness. “I decided to make time for you.”

Their relationship had come as a great surprise to the paladins and Shiro, who saw Lotor initially as an antagonistic figure. When he approached them, claiming that he wanted Voltron’s help to change the empire, none of them had bitten. He’d been imprisoned until he’d proven his worth, and then eventually, once they trusted him enough to let him roam free, he revealed that he was Altean.

It changed everything for Allura, and their budding relationship began to flourish.

“How are you holding up?” Shiro asked Sendak, a subtle way of asking if everything was going to be fine. He didn’t think Sendak would do anything rash, but he preferred not to have them fight, especially in front of the twins.

“Shiro,” came Lotor’s voice from across the way. Allura had him attached at her hip, looking happy, if a little frazzled, releasing him only when he bent at Shiro’s front. “And how are you doing, _patti?”_

Shiro _felt_ the rush of anger that came from Sendak. That was one of the ways Sendak referred to the twins in Galran, and he _hated_ that Lotor had adopted it.

 _Don’t say anything you’re going to regret,_ Shiro told him.

_I would not regret it, I assure you._

_I’m sure you two could get along if you tried,_ Shiro said, then refocused his attention on Lotor, who was gesturing to Ayame.

“May I? All the time that I’ve known your group, and I’ve yet to truly acquaint myself with your children. They are such fascinating examples of what the empire _could_ be.”

Shiro thought it was a nice sentiment, but as there was a growling sound coming from behind him, Sendak apparently did not agree. Shiro didn’t turn around, plastering a smile onto his face.  

“If she’ll let you.” He kissed the top of Ayame’s forehead, grabbing her fisted hand and wiggling it encouragingly. “Want to say hi to Lotor, sweetie?”

Ayame shook her head and wrenched her fingers free of Shiro’s grip, clinging harder to his shirt.

“She’s a little shy,” Shiro said apologetically. “You’d have better luck with Ellar.”

The growling got louder.

“Maybe another time,” Lotor said, eyes flickering to Sendak. “In the meantime, I should introduce myself to your people.” He inclined his head, then walked off in the other direction.

“Sendak,” Shiro said, turning around to face his mate. The look on his face was entirely too innocent, and when Shiro raised an eyebrow, he huffed unhappily.

“I do not like him,” Sendak said simply.

“I know,” Shiro replied. “You don’t have to like him, but you do have to be civil. Set an example for the twins.”

Sendak looked down at Ellar, who returned his stare with one of her own. Her ears twitched, flicking as she listened to the sounds going on around her.

“Down,” she requested, wiggling in his arms. He set her on the ground and in a predictable move she turned around and immediately attempted to go exploring, but Shiro caught her shoulder and urged her to his side.

“Not now, honey. Stay close to me.”

“But daddy,” she whined, pulling at his pant leg. “Wanna go look at the big ship!”

“Stick with me. We’ll have lots of fun together.”

 _“Udak?”_ she said, directing her pleading stare at Sendak. For all he appeared the harsher one, Sendak was easily charmed by his children.

“Stay with your father,” Sendak said, sounding regretful. “We will conduct a perimeter check later.”

“Permitter check!” she yelled excitedly, though she couldn’t have any clue what it meant.

“I’m hungry,” Ayame said, tugging at Shiro’s collar.

“Right. Food.” He grabbed Ellar’s hand and nodded in the direction of the apartment complexes. “Let’s go, Sendak. And remember: behave.”

“I make no promises, but I will attempt to remain impartial. For you, and our children.”

“Our kits,” Shiro quipped, which never failed to make Sendak puff with pride. “It should be easy for you. You do it all the time on the ship.”

“I can ignore his slighted behavior when there is a mission at hand,” Sendak said. “Now, he is simply…here.”

He slid to Shiro’s side, eyeing the people that watched them carefully. As they headed towards the living area, they spotted more people out and about. Every single person stared; not that Shiro could blame them. Seeing aliens was one thing, but Shiro had to be the first omega to start a family with one.

Granted, he didn’t appreciate being a side-show. His kids weren’t something to ogle at any more than other children.

“Well, while _we’re_ here,” Shiro said, ignoring the stare of a woman that looked like she was contemplating walking over, “let’s settle in. I think Coran mentioned something he wanted to show us earlier?”

They were all staying in a few of the Garrison apartments that had been outfitted for their arrival. Shiro had lived in the apartments for a few years already, but the other paladins had only lived in the student barracks and explored their quarters excitedly.

The last time they’d been here, they were students, and now they were being given honorary degrees and awards for all that they had done. It was a little surreal.

Shiro checked the cupboards, but other than following their requests for bedding and high-chairs for the kids, they hadn’t been given any food.

“Guess we’re roughing it in the cafeteria,” he mumbled, closing the cupboard door. “Sendak?”

He could sense him in the bathroom, and since both children were gone, he assumed they were in there with him. His assumptions were proven correct when Sendak came out a few minutes later, moving at a slight crouch so he could hold Ayame’s hand while Ellar clung to his leg.

“They enjoy liquid hand soap,” Sendak said upon arriving in the living room. “Ellar attempted to eat it. I dissuaded her of the notion.”

“It’s squishy,” Ellar said, miming squishing something between her fingers. She let go of Sendak’s hand and ran over to Shiro, raising her arms pointedly.

Shiro repressed a sigh, hoisting her up into his arms. They both liked to be held, but Ellar loved to climb on Shiro the most.

She yanked on his shirt and then pointed at the couch, shouting, “go, go go!” until Shiro went over and sat down. From there she clambered into his lap and curled up, holding onto his middle tightly.

“Aren’t you hungry?” he asked, poking her side. She giggled, and her claws dug into his side. “Rule number one: no claws.”

Her ears flattened, and it took another series of pokes and tickling her middle for her to pull away,  still giggling excitedly. If he wasn’t careful, she would want to play instead of eat, so he looked at Sendak for help.

“It’s time to eat,” Sendak said sternly. It wasn’t his ‘you are in so much trouble’ voice, but it got Ellar to switch gears, grabbing onto Sendak to be lifted into his arms.

 _Thank you,_ Shiro said, praying the rest of the day would run as smoothly.

* * *

The cafeteria ended up being a lot more…crowded than Shiro anticipated.

On their arrival, there were already a few galra there perusing what the Garrison had to offer; Shiro spotted Kolivan loading his plate with mashed potatoes, and Lotor was at the other end of the line, fingering his chicken nuggets curiously.

“This is the worst,” Hunk mumbled from behind Shiro.

“What?” Shiro turned, eyeing the sullen expression on Hunk’s face. “Why?”

“I wanted everyone’s first taste of Earth food to be something _good.”_ Hunk’s frown deepened as he watched Kolivan take his first bite. “I tried to tell the chefs to let me be in charge, just for today, _but no-o._ Apparently being the yellow leg of Voltron isn’t enough!”

“Well, we did want this to be pretty casual. And we’re having a formal dinner tomorrow evening. I’m sure Coran or Allura can convince them to give you more freedom.”

Hunk’s frown didn’t dissipate, but he stopped giving one of the cooks a dirty look and turned, trudging off towards Kolivan’s table. Shiro watched him point at Kolivan’s dish and then take it from him, marching back towards the buffet while Kolivan stared at his back in obvious bafflement.

“Is it truly that bad?” Sendak asked.

“No,” Shiro said. “It’s actually pretty good. The made-to-order stuff is usually the best out of the bunch. I think that’s where Hunk is going right now.”

“I want that!” Ellar shouted, pointing at the salad a cadet was carrying. He was in the middle of trying to squeeze past them without alerting the large alien, a decorated captain, and his alien children to his presence, and at Ellar’s shout, he blanched.  

“Green!” she said, even louder. People were beginning to stare.

“Sir,” the cadet said, eyes skirting past the alien at his shoulder and the young girl reaching for his food. “Uh.”

“Sorry,” Shiro said, pulling her hand back. “Ellar, don’t point at people, honey. Apologize to the nice man.”

“Sorry,” Ellar said, lacking in sincerity. The cadet stood there a moment longer, but Shiro waved him off, shooting him an awkward, but gracious smile when he thanked him for his service.

“It’s weird,” Shiro said, once they were sitting down at a table near the far end of the cafeteria, “being treated like this. Out there, being a war hero seemed less…real. I was just a student here.”

“And a decorated officer,” Sendak pointed out. Then he reached for a napkin to wipe Ayame’s face with; she had begun smashing her meal between her fingers before proceeding to shove the remains into her mouth. The twins had started on solids ridiculously early thanks to their galra genes, but since food goo was most often the entirety of their diet, Shiro hadn’t even considered that she might not realize not all food had to be mashed.

“Sweetie,” Shiro said, trying not to laugh. “That’s not how you eat that. Sendak, will you grab the fork out of her hand before she hurts herself?”

Other than dealing with two rambunctious twins, lunch was surprisingly uneventful. No one tried talking to them which might have had something to do with the fact that Sendak glared daggers at anyone who walked by their table or even looked their way.

“You’re looking very mean right now,” Shiro teased. Sendak turned his glare onto him, but he only smiled in return. Sendak couldn’t scare him if he tried.

They finished lunch in peace, which was a relief for Shiro, who was more than happy to wait until later for people to bombard him. For now that honor could be given to Lotor; at the other end of the room, he’d been surrounded by a dozen or so cadets entertaining an audience while Allura enjoyed her meal.

When she met Shiro’s eyes, she smiled. Out here, she wasn’t a princess, and with her hair down, her ears were hidden completely. Soon people would learn to recognize her, but for now he could tell she was enjoying not being noticed.

Shiro jumped when his phone started ringing, playing a ringtone he didn’t recognize.  

He was so startled by the unexpected noise that he couldn’t even place it for a good minute. When he finally realized that somebody was calling him on a device he hadn’t used in years, he swiped open the screen and stared at the number before lifting it up to his ear.

“Hello?”

“Hello! Shiro!” It was Coran’s voice. Shiro winced; he was yelling. “I was told this frequency was how I could reach you from afar! Very primitive, but resourceful for your kind I suppose. Can you hear me?!”

“I can hear you, Coran.” Sendak raised a brow, and Shiro shook his head. “What are you—why are you calling me?”

“I have something to show you! Well, all of you! But I need you to come to our quarters! In the lot behind it!”

“Something to show us?” Shiro looked at Sendak to see if he had any idea what Coran was on about, but his expression was blank. “Okay. Give us a minute here. I’ll round everyone up and meet you there.”

“Wonderful! As I said, I’ll meet you all in the lot behind our quarters, where Lotor parked his ship!”

“Wait, Lotor put his ship there?” Shiro asked, the first of many questions, but Coran had already hung up, leaving Shiro to stare at his phone in confusion.

He turned to Sendak. “He didn’t bring anything with him, did he? I don’t remember loading anything onto the castle.”

“Neither do I,” Sendak replied. He reached over and wiped at Ayame’s mouth. “It must be something from Earth.”

“Maybe.” Shiro recalled the bags that he’d seen Coran taking a look at, and tried to remember what they reminded him of. “Huh. Well, guess we should see if we can find the others around here and check it out. Maybe it’s urgent.”

* * *

Shiro stared up at Lotor’s ship and wondered how many rules they were currently in violation of, and who had to explain to the commander that an alien had parked his ship in a parking lot near the residential apartments.

Then he looked over at the pile next to Coran and had to blink a few times to make sure what he was seeing was correct.

“Is that catnip?”

“Is that what you Earthlings call it?” Coran asked, approaching the pair. They were the first to head off in this direction—the others couldn’t be far behind. “I can’t read your symbols, but I was assured this was just the stuff we needed!”

“You needed catnip?” Shiro adjusted Ellar in his arms and walked over to take a look at the bags. There were at least a dozen bags piled up, and he could detect the faint smell of mint. He must have ordered in bulk somehow.

“What is that _scent?”_ Sendak said, the vehemence in his voice surprising Shiro.

“It’s catnip.” Shiro’s lip twitched. “Coran, why did you get this again?”

“I contacted your officials—” Shiro didn’t know what to think of Coran contacting anyone on Earth, let alone any ‘officials’, “—to procure a gift for our galra friends, and after describing some of our members they assured me that ‘catnip’ as it’s called, would make them feel brighter than the entire universe!”

“Is that what they said?” Shiro asked. “Exactly?”

“Well, their exact words were more about them feeling ‘higher than the clouds’, but your clouds are actually quite low, comparatively.” Coran hummed thoughtfully. “Well, in any case! I’d like you all to partake in catnip, as a special gift from me! I was assured it can go in tea and in your food and it will still work its magic. In fact, let’s try it out now!”

“Coran.” Shiro’s voice was edging onto laughter. “I think they misunderstood you when you were describing our galra allies. Catnip isn’t really for—”

But Coran wasn’t listening. He was already ripping open one of the bags using his Altean superstrength that Shiro always forgot about, and soon the smell began to permeate the air. Shiro opened his mouth to comment on the smell when voices started coming from the other end of the lot.

Shaking his head at Coran and his antics— _catnip, really?—_ he turned and spied Lance with his arm wrapped around Keith, followed shortly by Allura, Lotor, and Hunk. Pidge was some ways away, messing with her pad.

“Like I was saying,” Lance declared, loud enough for them to hear. “I think we could really put the par in par-tay. Come one, let’s live a little!”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Keith replied, sounding annoyed. He hadn’t moved out of Lance’s embrace, and when he turned his head to address Allura coming up beside him, Keith sniffed subtly at his throat.

“Allura! Lotor!” Coran called. “So glad you could make it! I’ve got the—” He grunted as he ripped open the bag, “—catnip right here. Just trying to open it so we can all have a taste.”

“Wait, catnip?” Lance frowned. “You got us catnip?”

“I don’t think we can eat catnip, right?” Keith asked. “Not that I’d want to.”

“Nonsense! I was assured it was perfectly healthy for our galra friends, at the very least. Give it a try.”

“I’m not sure that’s a great idea—” Shiro started to say, but he was interrupted by Sendak, who had moved in front of him. He had a confused Ellar in his arms, and he shoved her at Shiro, something wild in his eye.

“I am going to look at the catnip,” he said, slowly, dragging out each word in the oddest way. “Protect her with your life.”

“Okay.” Shiro blinked at him. “Are you okay? You look a little…”

Sendak did not reply. He walked over towards Coran and then gave the bag of catnip a delicate sniff.

“What’s _udak_ doing, daddy?” Ellar asked.

“I’m not sure,” Shiro answered. He walked up beside Sendak, coming to his side just in time to watch him take a handful of the catnip and shove it into his mouth.

“Is that—are you sure you should be eating that?” Shiro asked. Again, Sendak ignored him—he was completely focused on combing through the catnip, popping pieces into his mouth like it was candy.

“Coran,” Shiro said, turning to the man in question. “What exactly did you say to the, uh, officials?”

“Why, I described Sendak here and a few others. They understood almost immediately and suggested this amount based on their size and weight. Though I’m not entirely sure how much your mate weighs, I think it should suffice, don’t you think?”

Shiro looked back at Sendak. A good portion of the bag was gone. It had been less than five minutes since they opened it.

“Coran, this is really nice of you, but I’m not sure catnip was the _best_  idea. It’s actually intended for cats. Humans aren’t meant to consume it. Not usually, anyway.”

“Sendak is a galra; I’m sure he’ll be fine!”

Shiro wanted to argue that he didn’t think it _was_ going to be fine, in fact, mostly because he’d been trying to catch Sendak’s attention and he was completely ignoring him in favor of rubbing catnip all over his cheeks.

“Dude,” Lance snickered, nudging Keith with his elbow. “He’s got catnip all over himself.”

“Lance—” Shiro started, but then Ellar decided to forgo sitting peacefully in his arms and squirmed in his grasp, trying to adjust her position while Shiro juggled the both of them. She ended up kicking Ayame in her haste, and then in a surprising display of aggression, Ayame snarled at her.  

“Hey. Watch the growling,” Shiro said.

“She hit me!” Ayame cried.

“I didn’t mean to!”

“Ellar.” Shiro sighed. “I know it was an accident, but apologize to your sister.”

Ellar’s eyes narrowed. When he looked at her, Shiro noticed that her pupils were dark and enlarged, and her face was also flush under her fur, subtle in the way that only Shiro would notice.

Then, because Ellar wasn’t about to be beat by her sister, she turned and raised her claws, returning Ayame’s snarl with a low growl.

Shiro glanced over at Sendak, who was now staring at the pile of catnip like it was the most fascinating thing he’d ever seen.

_Sendak, a little help over here?_

_Shiro._

Sendak’s voice sounded urgent, but Shiro was busy setting the twins down to see about separating them.

Unfortunately, whatever demon had possessed his children was suddenly rising up, because the moment she hit the ground, Ayame pounced on Ellar, sending them both tumbling.

“Uhh,” Hunk said.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Shiro knelt, hands raised and ready to rip them apart, but the two were like feral cats when they were especially rowdy. He’d needed a trip to the medbay pod after one particular incident. “Enough, you two!” He glanced behind him. “Sendak! What are you doing?”

Sendak looked over, staring like he’d only just noticed him. Shiro went back to the twins; Ayame had just bit her sister’s ear.

_Shiro. You must try this. It is fascinating._

“What did I say about you two fighting?” he said lowly, trying not to raise his voice any more than he had to. He waited until he saw an opening and then snatched Ellar away from her sibling, shoving his foot in between them when Ayame tried to go after her. “What has gotten _into_ you both? I understand you want to play, but you’re going to hurt each other. Sendak—oh.”

Having abandoned the catnip, Sendak finally came over and reached for Ayame, picking her up so he could twirl her around. If that wasn’t shocking enough, there was an honest-to-god _smile_ on his face.

The bond was buzzing with a strange new infectious energy that Shiro couldn’t parse, but it was a good energy. Sendak was feeling very, very happy.

Shiro stared, frozen with indecision. What did he address first? The twins, or Sendak’s odd behavior?

“That stuff smells funny,” Ellar mumbled into his arm. “ _Udak_ smells bad.”

“I believe that the catnip is reacting in some way with Sendak. How interesting.” Lotor stroked his chin with his thumb and forefinger before walking over to where Coran was still standing by it.

“You probably shouldn’t go near it,” Shiro cautioned, tugging Ellar behind him preemptively, as if that would stop whatever was affecting them. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“I am only _half-_ galra,” Lotor declared proudly, then proceeded to shove his nose in the open bag.

“Lotor,” Allura began, “you really should step back. I’m sure Shiro is an expert on catnip.”

“What is happening right now?” Shiro heard Hunk whisper.

Meanwhile, at Lotor’s words, Sendak’s smile had transformed into a scowl.

“You know nothing of the galra,” Sendak said, whirling on him. “ You are a—” he paused to hiccup, and for a second Shiro was concerned that maybe he was drunk and not high, “—a _whelp.”_

“Me? Son of Emperor Zarkon?" Lotor's eyes narrowed. "Really.”

“You know nothing,” Sendak continuing, insisting it once more. “You believe you know leadership and love. _I_ know love.”

“Oh no,” Pidge muttered quietly. “I see where this is going.”

Sendak gestured to Shiro, then looked over at him. However, instead of speaking, he only stared. Shiro waited to see what he was going to say, but the sight of Shiro apparently distracted him enough walked over to him, away from the catnip and Lotor.

“Sendak,” Shiro said, cupping Sendak’s cheek once he was close, “what has gotten into you?”

 _Shiro,_ Sendak said, his attention and his gaze zeroing in on him. His voice boomed inside Shiro’s head. Then he spoke out loud, grasping Shiro’s hand while he spoke with that same urgency from before. “Shiro. Have I told you?”

“Told me what?”

Sendak did not at first reply. He stared at him once again, his one eye as wide as Shiro had ever seen it. Then he leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to Shiro’s lips, careful of the child hanging between them.

“Your mind is the most beautiful place I have ever been—the most wondrous thing I have ever known.” Sendak kissed him again, lingering. “You are my life. _de luste da, lusilbe.”_

Sendak had been teaching him Galran alongside the twins. What little he had learned didn’t help him in the middle of conversation, but he knew that phrase. Sendak had whispered it into his neck after long-hour days; he’d murmured it in the morning when Shiro had just woken up; he told it to their children whenever they cried, and made sure they knew.

“I love you, too,” Shiro said, thick with emotion. It was hard not to be when Sendak’s happiness was bleeding through so strongly. _“de luste da._ And you are _really_ out of it.”

“My mind has never been clearer,” Sendak said in that same, slow, wondrous tone. “I feel as though I’m seeing for the first time.”

From behind Shiro, somebody snorted. “Oh, he’s seeing all right.” It was Pidge. “Why didn’t anyone tell me galra were basically cats?”

Sendak’s eyes flicked to his right, towards Pidge, but then Ayame started crying.

At her quiet sob Shiro jolted into action, taking her from Sendak so he could look her over. “Ayame, honey, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“My head hurts,” she cried, rubbing her eyes with her fists while tears squeezed on by. “ _Udak_ smells bad.”

“It’s the catnip,” Shiro said slowly. He looked behind Sendak. A headache—she had a headache from the catnip. It didn’t occur to him that it would be a potential side-effect; he didn’t know of any children that had gotten high before. Assuming that was what was going on. “Jesus." He rubbed his palm across his forehead. “Is this really happening right now?”

Sendak, meanwhile, looked vaguely alarmed, and had began combing his fingers through the fur on his face in search of any pieces of catnip.

“Are they gone?” he asked Shiro, after a moment.

“Uh.” Sendak managed to get a few, but too many were buried and would need much careful combing later. Shiro sighed. “Yeah, Sendak, you did, but I don’t think that’s going to help right now. Coran, can we get out of here? And can you get rid of all that catnip?”

“Remind me to save some for later,” Lance said. “I wish I had my phone on me. This is _gold.”_

“Oh.” Coran blinked at him. _“Oh._ Right away, Shiro! The castle is unfortunately quite a ways away. And there are also your primitive docking procedures they made us take part in.”

“Let’s take my ship!” Lotor suggested loudly. He was grinning deliriously. When he walked toward his ship parked just a few dozen feet way, he suddenly stopped in the middle of walking and looked, for lack of a better word, thoughtful. Puzzled, even.

Shiro waited, but Lotor continued to stand idly, now gazing up at his ship in open admiration.

“Lotor,” Shiro barked. _Not affected, my ass._ “Lotor, your ship?”

“Right.” Lotor blinked, then turned and saw Allura at his side. “Oh, my love, you’re _here._ I’m so relieved.”

“Lotor.” Allura kept her voice firm, but her lips twitched. “You need to focus. We need to help the children.”

Now Ellar was crying, too, and Sendak had taken hold of her, cradling her against his breast in a way he hadn’t done since they were babies. From the expression on his face, he looked close to tears himself.

“She is suffering,” he told Shiro. He stroked the top of her head, and she buried it further into his fur. “Shiro, what must I do to absolve her of her fear?” He paused. “The catnip. I must destroy it from the source.”

“Sendak, no.” Shiro grabbed him by his arm before he could turn and try to destroy all the catnip. He couldn’t help his heart from breaking at the genuine sorrow in his gaze, but it would only make things worse. “They’re going to be fine. Come on, baby. Let’s go to Lotor’s ship.”

Sendak took one look at Lotor’s ship and shielded Ellar away from the site, as if he couldn’t bear her knowing of its existence.

Shiro sighed, yanking on his arm to pull him forward. The day was just getting longer and _longer._

* * *

Thankfully, there were no problems with the twins, as far as the castle scans could tell. They had clear signs of a headache from the potent scent affecting their body chemistry, but they weren’t hurt.

“Thank god.” Shiro let his arms fall to his side, the hunch in his shoulder from the day's activities finally evening out. “That was an ordeal. I thought _I_ was going to be the one most worried about them.”

“Yeah, I’m not gonna lie, Sendak kinda looked like he might cry,” Hunk said at his side. “Good to know they’re okay.”

“Coran gave them some kind of vitamin that apparently makes kids fall asleep, so they’re napping now. It’s for the best; they usually nap after eating anyway.”

“Dude!” Lance walked in between them and wrapped his arm around Hunk’s shoulder, butting his head against Hunk’s cheek. “Are we really not going to talk about what just happened?”

“Lotor seems like he's doing… better,” Pidge said cautiously. They all turned in tandem to look at Lotor, who was currently gesturing wildly in the direction of his ship while Allura looked on in mild exasperation. And possibly amusement. “Sendak was hit pretty hard.”

“Where is he, anyway?” Keith asked.

“Oh, he’s right—" Shiro looked to where he’d seen Sendak last, mildly surprised to find that he was nowhere near anymore.

In fact, he wasn’t anywhere.

“Did anyone see where Sendak went?” Shiro asked. Meanwhile he was tugging on their connection, trying to decipher which direction he’d gone. His emotions were distant, which meant that he was either shielding himself away from Shiro, or he really was that far away.

“I think I saw him walk past Lotor’s ship,” Lance offered, tapping on his chin. “Not sure. He might’ve kicked it on his way out, too.”

Keith’s brow furrowed. “He kicked Lotor’s ship?”

“Yeah.” Lance grinned. “Now that I’m remembering, he definitely did. It looked like it hurt.”

Shiro had vague recollections of pain, but he’d brushed it aside at the time, too focused on making sure the twins were totally and completely safe. Now he forced himself not to panic and started walking towards where the paladins said he’d gone.

“Wait, Shiro, where are you going?”

“I’ll catch you guys later,” he said, waving his hand. “I’m going to find Sendak! Watch the kids for me!”

“But I don’t—!” Lance stopped, then sighed. “Man, I am so tired of babysitting.”

* * *

_Sendak._

There was no reply.

Shiro couldn’t sense Sendak’s location at all, which implied that Sendak had done so on purpose. _Why_ he would do that was another question entirely.

_Sendak, where are you?_

He didn’t find him in the cafeteria or their room, and after pinging the castle ship just to make sure he hadn’t missed him there, Shiro’s frustration began to build.

_Sendak, I’m serious. Where are you? I’m worried about you._

No response. Shiro tried valiantly to force his consciousness to Sendak’s side, but it was locked down tight. Fuck.

“Where the hell did he go?” Shiro mumbled to himself, stopping near one of the outlets just a few blocks away from the cafeteria.

Normally he wouldn’t be so concerned with Sendak’s disappearance—he was a fully-fledged adult alien, after all—but he was high as a kite, apparently, and he didn’t know the area. If he wasn’t careful, he could stumble into the wrong person not expecting the appearance of an extremely tall alien and cause a serious incident.

“Fuck,” he swore softly, crossing his arms. “If I was a tall, furry, purple alien that had just consumed a lot of catnip, where would I go?”

The answer came faster than Shiro expected.

From across the street, he became aware of something large and purple moving inside one of the shops. It was a flower shop. One of the few inside the Garrison that was usually used by the Garrison staff to decorate events or honor fallen comrades. Shiro had only bought flowers there once, to bring on a date.

He blinked a few times to make sure what he was seeing was real, and then he started walking across the street.

 _Sendak?_ he tried, but the purple mass inside the shop didn’t even flinch.

By the time Shiro reached the doorway, it became obvious that it was indeed Sendak. He carried with him a large bouquet, his brow furrowed with intense concentration.

Once he noticed Shiro standing outside the store, gaping at him, his gaze expression went unbearably soft and the bond opened up again, sending a flood of love and affection Shiro’s way.

“Sendak, what are you…” He paused to receive the giant bouquet that Sendak had apparently purchased and was now shoving into his arms. “Are these…sunflowers?”

“Shiro.” Sendak crowded him back against the wall, caging him in with his arms. Then he ducked his head, nuzzling the top of Shiro’s head. “I remembered.”

Shiro couldn’t hold back his smile at Sendak’s obvious pleasure, despite his confusion. “You remembered?”

“You.” Sendak mouth pressed into his temple. “You once told me that you missed the sunflowers on your planet. It took me some time to discover a suitable location, but some of your locals assured me that this shop would carry them.”

“You went to find me sunflowers?” Shiro looked down at the bouquet of sunflowers, his heart twisting uncomfortably in his chest. “Sendak, that’s—that’s so sweet.” The bag crinkled as he clutched it to his chest. “How did you even remember? _I_ don’t even remember mentioning them.”

“I remember everything about you.” He paused for a long time, practically pressing Shiro into the wall—not that he minded. After a long period of silence, Sendak seemed to shake himself free of his thoughts and cupped Shiro’s cheek, tilting his head up to stare deeply into his eyes.

 _“de luste da,”_ he said fervently, his thumb stroking Shiro’s lower lip with care.

“I love you, too.” Shiro said sincerely. He couldn’t stop grinning. “Sendak, you are really something else, you know that?”

The flowers were a surprise, but a welcome one, and Sendak—he had done it all for him. He had always been more romantic than Shiro gave credit, but even when he was high he was thinking about Shiro.

He drank in Sendak’s affection like it was a drug, basking in the warmth of his presence and his welcoming scent. Even though he was crowded against a wall in the middle of the sidewalk, blocking off any potential traffic, neither he nor Sendak felt particularly inclined to move, only doing so when they heard a familiar voice coming from down the street.

“See! I told you we’d find ‘em this way.” 

“Is he all right?”

Those were Lance and Allura’s voices, which meant the others couldn’t be too far behind.

“Lance! Allura!” Shiro pushed at Sendak’s chest, to no avail. He growled, pulling Shiro harder into his embrace. “Sendak, please—” He managed to wrench an arm free and waved it at the paladin’s approach. “You guys didn’t have to come find us.”

“Hunk agreed to do the babysitting, and I wasn’t gonna miss out on—ow! Keith!”

“What he means is, we were worried.” Keith nudged Lance again, who was rubbing his injured shoulder and shooting Keith a dirty look. “The dinner is in a couple of hours and we just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“How did you find me?”

“We used the ‘find my phone’ app on your phone,” Pidge said.

“I don’t remember setting that up,” Shiro replied, raising an eyebrow.

“You didn’t.” Pidge smiled. “But knowing you, we can’t be too safe.”

Shiro decided not to comment on the validity of her statement. Instead, he focused on wriggling out of Sendak’s hold, using the bouquet as a replacement of sorts.

“Sendak, baby,” he cooed, attempting to return his hair to a semblance of its former glory. His hair product didn’t come cheap. “Why don’t you hold onto those? I trust you’ll take care of them.”

Sendak’s chest puffed out, his pride swelling at being entrusted with the insurmountable task.

“What are those?” Allura asked, walking up to them. Sendak watched her carefully, but he didn’t growl this time, thank god. “They’re so beautiful.”

“Sunflowers,” Lance said. Then he added, “some people consider them weeds—ow! Keith, will you stop hitting me!”

“I barely touched you. Alphas,” Keith grumbled. “Bunch of babies.”

“Hey!”

“They are glorious weeds,” Sendak declared proudly. It was unlikely the translator told him much about weeds, considering how proud he seemed. “For your hands only, Shiro. I purchased their entire stock.”

“Don’t they get shipments?” Pidge whispered, hopefully not loud enough for Sendak to hear. If he did, he made no comment. He was busy staring at Shiro again, gazing at him in what Shiro could only assume was quiet adoration.

“What do they smell like?” Allura asked him. She wisely did not try to take the bouquet from Sendak, who shifted closer at her question.

“Not like anything, honestly. But I like them. They remind me of Earth.” Shiro reached over and plucked one from the bouquet, his smile broadening when Sendak dragged his knuckles over Shiro’s forearm affectionately. “My mom when I was little would put out sunflower seeds for the birds, and we’d always have sunflowers growing because of it.”

“Aww,” Pidged cooed. “That’s cute. There are breeds of sunflowers that smell, you know. I bet we could get some.”

Shiro expected some kind of declaration from Sendak at that, but he was still staring at Shiro openly. Then a sudden wave of affection so strong flooded their connection that Shiro felt tears well up in his eyes.

“Sendak?” Shiro asked, wiping at his eye. “Are you okay—”

“Marry me.”

The conversation around them came to a grinding halt.

Shiro froze. “What?”

“Your mind is the most beautiful place I have ever known. You—” He took Shiro’s hand and squeezed it forcefully. “You are my life.”

“Oh my god,” Shiro breathed. How did Sendak even know about marriage? “How did you even know—what are you saying?”

“Marry me, Shiro.”

Shiro shook his head. “No, seriously, what is happening right now?”

“Holy shit,” Lance whispered.

“Your paladins explained it to me,” Sendak said. The flowers fell from Sendak’s hand and onto the ground. He soon followed, dropping down on both knees in front of Shiro. “Marry me. Commit yourself to me in the human way.”

“Oh my _god.”_ Shiro covered his mouth with his hand, overwhelmed and under-prepared. “You’re not serious. We’re not doing this right now.”

“I have never been more serious about anything. _de luste da_ —you are my love, Shiro. You hold my heart in your hands.”

Marriage; Shiro had never considered marriage before. He'd always been focused on his career goals, and once he'd been launched out into space and bonded to an alien, Earth-style romance had hardly been a priority. If Shiro was being honest, he'd never expected to come back to Earth at all. And now that he was here, he couldn't deny that the idea of an Earth-style wedding had crossed his mind once or twice. 

He just hadn't expected it to become a possibility so soon. 

_Shiro._

Sendak's voice was warm and affectionate, taking hold of Shiro's heart and squeezing. He prided himself on keeping his cool during sad movies, and watching videos of kitten rescues, but Sendak was holding _nothing_ back; his feelings came at Shiro from all sides, a torrent of love and devotion. Helpless to it, Shiro couldn’t stop the tears from flooding his eyes.

“I can’t believe you’re doing this right now,” he choked, rubbing at his eyes with his free hand. “I can’t _believe_ you’re proposing right now. On both knees. Do you even know what you’re saying?”

“I want you in my life for eternity—as long as time allows.” He waited, whispering his name in the space inside Shiro’s head that had been carved out years ago.

_Shiro._

He was pleading with him now, begging him to consider a possibility that he knew he already wanted. Shiro couldn’t manage the words, so he nodded his head rapidly. His eyes were too watery to see properly, but he felt when Sendak brought him into his embrace, and he heard the clapping and whistling from his friends.

“I hate you,” Shiro mumbled into his chest. “That’s not fair. You know I can’t say no.”

“When he’s back to normal, we are definitely going to teach him how to actually propose,” Pidge whispered to Keith. Shiro didn’t hear his reply, because in the next second, Sendak was tilting his head up, a dark looked in his eye, and then they were kissing.

“Sendak— _mmph.”_

He held nothing back; Sendak kissed Shiro deeply, sliding their lips together, setting out to devour him with a passion Shiro hadn’t felt since the kids were born.

“Sendak,” he breathed, when there was room to. “We’re in,” Sendak kissed him again, “ _public—“_ and again, rumbling contentedly all the while.

“Let them watch,” he said against his mouth. And because Shiro was weak to Sendak and intimacy he had missed with twins, he let it go on for a few seconds longer, winding his hands around Sendak’s neck.

It was when Sendak’s prosthetic hand landed on his ass that he pulled away, shimmying out of his grip so there could be no further incidents.

“Well,” Allura said loudly, her cheeks slightly flushed. “This is wonderful. What is ‘marrying’? Is it a ritual?”

“Probably similar to how it works in Altea,” Pidge explained. “You say your vows and sign some paperwork, and then you’re married by law.”

She hummed. “This is different from being bonded?”

“Yes.” Keith answered this time. His eyes skated to Lance, then off into a random direction. “Bonded pairs have legal protections, but you don’t get any tax breaks unless you’ve been bonded for a few years.”

“It is the same for the galra,” Lotor cut in.

Eyes wide, Allura spun around to face him, her face lighting up. “Lotor! You found us. I thought you had ‘business’ with your ship.”

Lotor coughed delicately, his cheeks coloring. Shiro didn’t want to know what ‘business’ implied, and thankfully Lotor did not elaborate.

“I made it just in time to see this wonderful declaration.” He clapped his hands together. “Now, Allura, why don’t we—”

“No,” she answered immediately.

Lotor pouted.

“What do you mean?” Shiro asked. “I didn’t realize the galra did it, too.”

“How do you expect people to marry?” Lotor raised a brow. “Technically, in the eyes of the law you two are no more than lovers. To truly solidify your mated status you would need to submit the proper paperwork.”

Shiro opened his mouth, then let it fall. This was news to him.

“This is news to me,” he said, looking at Sendak. "Were you ever going to explain that to me?"

“I will draw up the paperwork immediately,” he said to Shiro, which didn’t answer his question, but that he would save for a later date.

“We’ll talk about it later.” Shiro nudged him with his shoulder and Sendak took the opportunity to pull him into his embrace again, nuzzling and kissing at his cheek and neck. When his lips passed over the bondmark, Shiro shuddered, raising his hand to his cheek. “Come on. Let’s go back to the castle. Hunk is watching over the kids, right?”

“Yes. Our children.” Sendak pressed his mouth to Shiro’s throat, splaying his hands greedily across his hips. “I would have more with you, if you are willing.”

Someone around them snickered. Shiro’s cheeks lit on fire.

“You are never allowed near catnip again,” he ground out, taking one of Sendak’s hands and threading their fingers before he forcefully pulled away and started walking in the direction the paladins had come.

Their first day back on Earth may not have been as uneventful as he would have usually preferred, but truthfully, Shiro wouldn’t have changed a thing.

Well, maybe just a few.

**Author's Note:**

> What are....endings. I don't usually do comedy so hopefully that was enjoyable <3 I had fun, anyway
> 
> Language taken from [here](http://voltronrising.tumblr.com/post/152316628505/galran-language-appendix-a-english-to-galran) tho I messed around with some of the words because I liked the way they sounded better aha. Also, not that you probably noticed, but I think in the original fic I forgot that Sendak never went to Earth and I said he chased them there but he was literally just conveniently stationed. Rip.


End file.
